The invention relates to a process for forming groups of (cuboidal) articles, especially (soft) packs, by pushing said articles off a stack of the articles, by means of a pusher, actuated during fixed cycles, which pushes off articles in the transverse direction, preferably onto a conveyor. The invention furthermore relates to an apparatus for performing this process.
In the packaging technique it is often necessary to produce bundles consisting of several superposed layers of small packs provided with a wrapping. For this purpose, a stack of the packs is formed first by means of a pack lifter, such as the one described in Applicant's German Patent Application P 39 15 600.1 corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 07/519,986, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,883. The packs are then pushed off this stack in groups of several superposed layers by means of a pusher arranged at the stack. The pack groups having the size of the bundles are then provided with a wrapping in a packing machine.
If bundles of different sizes, consisting of a different number of superimposed layers of small individual packs, such as paper tissue packs, are to be produced, it is necessary to change over the drive of the pusher arranged at the stack of the pack lifter each time.